The ferry from Santorini arrived in Heraklion at 3am. Charming. Oliver and I pedaled out of the city and slept for a couple hours in the large paved Knossos parking lot. Also charming. In addition, of the month I spent in Greece, the hottest days were my first two days on Crete with high temperatures of 38°C. What a way to start bicycle touring on Crete! Don’t be discouraged, however. I cycled about a week on Crete, and I quite liked it.
Knossos is a Minoan palace. Excavation started in 1900 when archaeologists knew a lot less than they do now. Restoration/reconstruction, apparently conducted largely by a fellow named Evans, was, to put it generously, haphazard. For example, repainted Minoan artwork is not necessarily (ever?) in the room where it was actually discovered. This makes visiting the site kind of strange because I wasn’t sure what to believe. Also, it was too hot and too crowded.
